1

Table of Contents

ACRONYMS ...........................................................................................................2
ASSIGNMENT 1: DEVELOPING RESEARCH TOPIC ..................................3
I. Research Title ..........................................................................................3
II. Introduction .............................................................................................3
III. Research Background .............................................................................4
IV. Problem Statement ..................................................................................5
V. Research Questions and Objectives .......................................................6
VI. Methodology of Research .......................................................................7
VII. Timescale, Resources and Limitations ..................................................8
VIII. Reference ..................................................................................................9

ASSIGNMENT 2: UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS ......................................10
I. Concept 1: Deductive ............................................................................10
II. Concept 2: Inductive .............................................................................17
III. Concept 3: Research Parameters .........................................................22
IV. Concept 4: Validity ...............................................................................23
V. Concept 5: Reliability ...........................................................................24
REFERENCE ........................................................................................................25






2

ACRONYMS
AIDS............................Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HIV...............................Human Immunodeficiency Virus
ILO...............................International Labor Organization
KABP............................Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices (HIV/AIDS
research method)
UNAIDS....................... The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS











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ASSIGNMENT 1: DEVELOPING RESEARCH TOPIC
I. RESEARCH TITLE
Stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS in the workplace in
Vietnam

II. INTRODUCTION
HIV/AIDS is an epidemic disease of the whole world in general and of
Vietnam in particular. In Vietnam, the spread of HIV/AIDS is in time
of crisis on many levels, affecting the entire country as well as the
prospect for stable economic growth of the country. For every 75
households, it is estimated that there is one household having HIV-
infected person. HIV/AIDS is also a source of discrimination, which is
even more than a disaster. This research focuses on discussing
discrimination issues in the workplace. The research also reflects HIV-
related stigma and discrimination situation which is spreading in
Vietnam. Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
recognizes the right to have jobs for everyone. However, stigma and
discrimination are denying this fundamental right of many people
having HIV infection.


III. RESEARCH BACKGROUND
1


4

The AP/Kansas City Stars reported that HIV/AIDS discrimination in
the workplace is widespread in Vietnam, causing a lot of workers
having HIV/AIDS to be remote from their colleagues, or to be fired or
refused jobs. According to a survey by ILO of 200 factory workers on
Tuesday at a workshop on HIV/AIDS discrimination in Hanoi, 70% of
the workers surveyed said that their companies should not hire HIV-
positive employees, and 62.5% of the workers thought that HIV-
infected employees should be isolated in separate work spaces (Agence
France-Presse, 12/16). The study also showed that 83% of the workers
believed that HIV testing should be compulsory for any job applicants
and one-third believed that HIV-infected workers should be fired.
Moreover, 88% of the workers believe that HIV/AIDS comes from
drug use and prostitution, which are referred in common parlance as
social evils, the AP/Star reports. In my opinionHIV is caused by
prostitutes and intravenous drug users, a 21-year-old female
interviewed in Hai Phong City said
2
. Jordan Ryan, the country
representative of the United Nations Development Programme said that
"HIV is becoming a young person's disease in Vietnam", adding that
64% of new HIV infections are in the age of 15-29. ILO Country
Director Rose Marie Greve said, "Stigma and discrimination is in fact a
reality at workplaces.More importantly, and very sadly, it is often
based on misinformation." Greve said that Vietnam currently has no
anti-discrimination laws related to HIV/AIDS. This would cause

5

organizations in Vietnam to lose their skilled labor. Greve also said
that keeping HIV-infected employees is "simply good business"
(AP/Kansas City Star, 12/16).

IV. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Not many people in Vietnam particularly and in the world generally
understand exactly and thoroughly HIV/AIDS, its root causes and its
casual transmission as well. It seems to be one of the main reasons
causing discrimination against HIV-positive people. Since the
beginning of the epidemic, stigma, discrimination, and gender
inequality have been identifiedas major obstacles to effective
responses to HIV. Yet there has never been serious political and
programmatic commitment to doing anything about them. Peter Piot,
Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
3
.
This research does not intend to provide more figures and data than
what are available due to the limitation of knowledge, time and space.
Its aim is to give an overall view of a small aspect of stigma and
discrimination against HIV/AIDS: in the workplace in Vietnam.
If we do not appreciate the nature and impact of stigma, none of our
interventions can begin to be successful. AIDS is probably the most
stigmatized disease in history.
4
UNAIDS defines HIV-related stigma
and discrimination as a process of devaluation of people either
living with or associated with HIV and AIDSDiscrimination follows

6

stigma and is the unfair and unjust treatment of an individual based on
his or her real or perceived HIV status.
5
It is essential to note that
even if a person feels stigma towards another, she or he can decide to
not act in a way that is unfair or discriminatory
6
.

V. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

This research would be done in order to answer these following
questions:
- What is the current situation of stigma and discrimination against
HIV-infected employees in the workplace in Vietnam?
- Why does almost everyone including employers and other
colleagues discriminate HIV-positive workers?
- What can be done to reduce this problem?

The overall objectives of this research paper are:
- Giving an overall view of real stigma and discrimination situation
in the workplace in Vietnam;
- Enhancing understanding of the root cause as well as the extent of
discrimination related to HIV/AIDS in Vietnam at policy level,
national level, and workplace level;
- Engaging in activities protecting the rights of people living with
HIV/AIDS;

7

- Proposing some suggestions and solutions to reduce negative
impacts on social, economic, and workforce development in
consequence of HIV/AIDS

VI. METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
This research was primarily conducted based on data, figure, and
information done by ILO and other researchers. The computer and its
software were used as a tool of this research. Measurement techniques,
statistics, the human mind, and language were also utilized to complete
the report.
In terms of methodology of data collected from ILO report, to conduct
a rapid assessment, they have applied in-depth interview method so as
to collect information from representatives of government agencies,
international non-government organizations, employees, employers,
and employees with HIV/AIDS as well. The evaluation also includes
studying reports of other projects on HIV/AIDS. In the KABP survey,
quantitative approach was used in a survey of 200 workers, including
both men and women working in glass industry and textile industry in
four factories located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The reason for
selecting these sectors comes from the results of interviewing business
owners which was implemented by the Institute of Social Development
in March 2003. Some business owners believe that the stigma and
discrimination related to HIV / AIDS in production sectors is greater

8

than other sectors because of the nature of the work itself and the
possibility of being hurt while working (can bleed easily, can be prone
to lung diseases). In-depth interviews were also conducted with doctors
and nurses working at the clinic of these plants.

VII. TIMESCALE, RESOURCES, AND LIMITATIONS
- Week 1: Find research project, raise research question, draw research
strategy
- Week 2: Conduct literature search, formulate the research design
- Week 3: First draft of research proposal
- Week 4-6 : Amend the proposal, approve and finalize proposal, literature
draft and review
- Week 7: submit proposal and literature review
- Week 8-10: improve the literature
- Week 10-13: Revise the last time and final writing of the project report
- Week 14: Submit the research
- Week 15: Presentation

The primary data source is documents collected on the Internet. Almost
data was from the website of ILO, and other information was from articles,
journals, e-books, and etc. Since the scale of the research is the workplace
in Vietnam only, it is difficult for me to do the survey or interviews
myself. Besides, an important tool of research, which is known as library,

9

is also seems to be unhelpful because Malaysian library does not have
many Vietnamese documents and also this problem is not very popular,
even in Vietnam.
VIII. REFERENCE
1. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, HIV/AIDS Discrimination in
Workplace Widespread in Vietnam, ILO Study Says, The Body,
http://www.thebody.com/content/art11869.html?ic=2004, (accessed 19
August 2012).
2. Hong, K, Anh, N, Ogden, J. (2004), Understanding HIV and AIDS-related
Stigma and Discrimination in Vietnam, International Center for Research
on Women (ICRW).
3. Piot, P. (2006), How to reduce the stigma of AIDS, Keynote address,
August 12, 2006: Symposium at the XVI International AIDS Conference,
Toronto.
4. Cameron, E. (2007) Legislating an epidemic: the challenge of HIV/AIDS
in the workplace, ILO Headquarters.
5. UNAIDS (December 2003), UNAIDS fact sheet on stigma and
discrimination.
6. UNAIDS (2007), Reducing HIV Stigma and Discrimination: a critical part
of national AIDS programmes. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme
on HIV/AIDS.
7. ILO Vietnam (2004), Gim thiu k th v phn bit i x lin quan n
HIV/AIDS ti ni lm vic Vit Nam.

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ASSIGNMENT 2: UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS
I/ CONCEPT 1: DEDUCTIVE
1. Definition
Deductive approach is a top-down approach that works from the general to
the specific. This approach begins by considering a theory associated with
the research topic. It requires the researcher to think about research that has
been already been conducted and develop a strategy to extend or add to
that theoretical foundation
1
. From the topical idea, the researcher needs to
develop a hypothesis which then will be tested by specific data and
information collected from observation. Eventually, a confirmation or
rejection of the initial theory will be given.

(Source: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php )
Deductive approach is narrow in nature; everything the research do is to
test the hypothesis. It is often concerned with quantitative method or
surveys. This approach is considered to be linked with positivism

11

philosophy which includes hypothesis to prove the researchers
assumptions. It is important for the researcher to be general and for the
research issue to be specific (Ritchie and Lewis 2003)
2
.
2. Illustration
The stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS in the workplace is a
reality which is happening obviously in Vietnam. This fact has been
mentioned in reports of the government as well as other researches
conducted by national and international organizations. Many reports have
shown evident manifestations of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in
the workplace as the following:
2.1. Dismissal
The most obvious form of discrimination is directly fire HIV-positive
workers. The reason given is to protect other employees as well as the
interest of the business. Another form of dismissal is to ask employees
to be on sick leave. This reason is perfectly legal since Vietnam Labor
Insurance policies allow the employer to end the labor contract if the
employees sick leave is more than the time allowed. Therefore, the
employer usually offers sick leave with normal wages and then end the
labor contract with them. Besides, dismissal can be performed under
another form. For example, according to a study by the Institute of
Sociology in 2002, a HIV-positive employee has been laid off with the

12

reason that the company no longer had job for him to do. In this case,
the responsibility belonged to the local HIV/AIDS agency which had
notified the employer about the status of the employee with the excuse
that it would help avoid transmission to other colleagues. The
aforementioned study also shows that in some cases, employees related
to drug uses and prostitution were sacked. KABP study elucidated the
situation of discrimination by giving the information on workers
opinion of recruiting HIV-infected people. According to the survey,
30% of workers agree that HIV-infected people should be dismissed.
3
2.2. Screening for recruitment purposes and testing
HIV test certificate is a requirement for job applicants in some
businesses. In some other firms, the employer shall not require health
checks but employees are required to do blood tests and they can be
denied if HIV test result is positive. In some enterprises, the applicant
may be denied if "his or her appearance looks like a drug user."
According to a survey by the Institute of Social Development in
compliance with the requirement of UNAIDS and the National Office
of AIDS Prevention in Hanoi in May 03/2003, at 6 bureaus and 19
enterprises, job applicants only need to have a certificate of health and
no need to conduct HIV tests. However, the survey also said that there
are 5 businesses which want to conduct HIV testing for recruitment
purposes. This study further pointed out that all 30 companies surveyed

13

(22 state businesses and 8 private enterprises) have said they would not
employ people with HIV infection and would dismiss any employees
infected.
4

This attitude is also reflected in the KABP survey
5
with the majority of
workers interviewed (82.5%) said that HIV tests should be conducted
for applicants before accepting them to work in factories. The main
reason given is to ensure the health status for other workers, or to
identify people with HIV so as to arrange suitable work for them. The
common explanation given is "to allow us to take prevention measures
to be careful to avoid infecting others. Only 14.5% of employees said
that it is not necessary to perform the test (Figure 1). However, the
main reason (ironically) given is that "factory does not contain a high
risk of HIV infection."
In addition, a large proportion (85%) of respondents said that factories
should carry out routine HIV testing to identify those infected with
HIV
6
. This idea was even also supported by the medical staff who is
responsible for HIV / AIDS activities in the factory. Only 9% of
respondents opposed this idea.

14



2.3. Disclosure of HIV test results
This is a consensus throughout interviews of employees, even medical
staff who are responsible for the prevention of HIV / AIDS in surveyed
factories.
7
As illustrated in the chart below, 80% of interviewed
workers want information on HIV test to be disclosed so that others
can take necessary prevention measures. 18% of the respondents do not
agree with this opinion, while about 2% of workers are not sure
whether it is necessary or not (Figure 2).
82.5
14.5
3
Figure 1: Opinion of compulsory testing
before recruitment
agree
do not agree
do not know

15


2.4. Bias against HIV-infected people
People with HIV are often believed to involve in "social evils" such as
drug use, prostitution or loose lifestyles. Their appearance is often
described as indecent or inappropriate. Their behavior cannot be
predicted, uncontrollable and dangerous. Since "social evils" is
considered unethical, there exists argument that the infected people
deserve that fate and should be dismissed, isolated or managed.
However, in general, people's attitudes on this issue are not the same. It
depends on the reason of HIV infection, meaning that if these people
were accidentally infected, people would be more sympathetic towards
them. It is also an indicator reflecting the stigma related to the way of
transmission of the disease.
80
18
2
Figure 2: Disclosure of HIV test results
agree
do not agree
do not know

16

In the KABP study for workers
8
, a large number (87.5%) of workers
said that HIV / AIDS is derived from the use of drugs and prostitution.
Thus, more than half of the respondents (about 53%) believe that only
people who use drugs and prostitution can be infected (Figure 3).
These perceptions and attitudes are particularly prevalent in group of
people with low education level. As illustrated in Figure 4, there are
72.2% of employees with secondary education or lower, 47.9% of
people are educated to high school and 28.1% of people with college
degrees agree that only those who involve in prostitution could be
infected HIV / AIDS.



87.5
53.5 53
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Due to "social evils" Only due to prostitution Only due to drug use
Figure 3: Relationship between HIV/AIDS and
social evils


17


Figure 4: Relationship between HIV/AID and social evils and education levels
In conclusion, it can be confirmed that stigma and discrimination against
HIV-related people does exist obviously in the workplace in Vietnam.
II. CONCEPT 2: INDUCTIVE
1. Definition
Inductive approach is a bottom-up approach that works from the specific to
the general. This approach begins with specific observations and measures
made by the researcher, begin to detect patterns and regularities,
formulate some tentative hypotheses that we can explore, and finally end
up developing some general conclusions or theories
8
.
28.1
37.5
31.3
47.9
50
58.3
72.2
63.9
65.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Only prostitution leads
to HIV/AIDS
Only drug use leads to
HIV/AIDS
HIV-infected people
have to suffer bad
consequences
College
High school
Secondary or lower

18


(Source: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php )
Inductive approach is open-ended in nature. It is very flexible as there is no
requirement or pre-determined theory that forces the research to collect
information and data towards. Everything the research does is to use
observed data, figures, and fact to come to a final hypothesis that
concerned with the research interest. This allows the research to give
inductive arguments (Mertens 2008). This approach is highly related to
what is called interpretivism philosophy. It lets the researcher provide
subjective reasoning with the aid of various real life examples (Ridenour,
Benz and Newman 2008).
2. Illustration
Root cause of stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS
2.1.Link HIV/AIDS with social evils
It is discovered that there is a connection in the mind of employers
and employees that HIV-infected people are involved in behaviors

19

called social evils. Besides, these behaviors are socially
unacceptable, generally considered as immoral or decadent.
Consequently, this leads to the stigma and discrimination as
mentioned above.
An indeed negative impact of the lack of understanding and
misperceptions of the workers and employers is that they always
believe that only those related to prostitution and drug use are
capable of being infected while they themselves are immune to this
disease because they are too busy, do not have enough time and
money to be involved in social evils. As a result, this opinion has
put workers in front of a real risk because they are not fully aware
of different ways of transmission that the disease can transmit in
the community beside groups with high risk of infection.
2.2.The fear of common infection
In addition to the moral criticism, lack of understanding and
misconception also lead to unreasonable fears. Three main ways of
transmission of the disease are known as "through the blood",
"drug injection" and "libertine" or "unsafe sex. Nevertheless,
transmission "through the blood" is understood the least, so it
creates the biggest fear for workers. The general view is that HIV
can be transmitted easily, not only through sharing injecting
equipment (eg, needles are not be sterilized at the clinics), nail

20

clippers or other pruning (such as haircuts) but also through other
ways such as sharing cups, lipstick, food and bowls, wearing the
same clothes (or washing clothes together) or other personal items
as mentioned above. Even more casual contact such as kissing,
touching or sitting close to people with HIV is considered
dangerous. The transmission is even believed to be possible
through the bite of insects such as mosquitoes. Although the
understanding of the disease is increasingly improved thanks to
information, education and communication campaigns, people are
still afraid or unsure. Hence, they believe that avoiding contact with
an infected person is the best measure to ensure their safety.
2.3. Misconception about ability and spirit of HIV-infected employees
Insufficient understanding of the epidemiology of HIV / AIDS has
led employers and workers to believe that the infected people are
unlikely to find jobs or even difficult to continue the work they are
doing. The explanation given is their health status does not allow
them to complete the assigned work. Few people know the fact
HIV-positive people can still continue to work for a long time
before entering the AIDS stage. Moreover, people think that
infected people consider their death as "fate", so they cannot pay
full attention to the job; or simply employers do not want to hire
them anymore. Those comments like "Even healthy people are

21

difficult to find jobs, let alone HIV-infected people are often heard
in the answers during the interview.
2.4. Misconceptions about workers with HIV / AIDS as a threat to
production plants and social environment
Other reasons which justify the discrimination against people with
HIV is the worry about the risk of transmission to other colleagues
(basically fear of common infection) and an uncomfortable and
puzzling work environment. It is also believe that people with HIV
working with low efficiency will lead to the reduction of
productivity, affecting work and life of everyone in the factory.
Financial expenses for the treatment and care for the patient as well
as the loss of "spirit" and "prestige" of other colleagues and
workplace are other reasons of stigma and discrimination.
The survey result indicates that about half of the employees
(53.5%) believe that HIV-infected workers can do harm to the plant
in terms of decreased productivity, increased medical expenses and
influence the reputation of the plant. The number of people
worrying about the transmission and unstable environment which
HIV causes accounts for 11.5%. Only about one-third of workers
said that HIV-infected people do not harm the workplace as they
still have the ability to work well in a period of time.
9
(Figure 5)

22


In conclusion, the root cause of stigma and discrimination against
HIV/AIDS in the workplace in Vietnam is the the lack of
understanding and misconceptions about the origin, transmission and
progress of HIV / AIDS. Lack of understanding of the employer and
other colleagues about HIV / AIDS is considered to be a serious
problem despite the fact that all people have heard about this disease
thanks to the effort of the mass media and information, education and
communication activities. However, the knowledge of the employee
and the employer is still very limited, insufficient and even inaccurate.
This is one of the main causes of the stigma and discrimination in the
workplace.
III. CONCEPT 3: RESEARCH PARAMETERS
53.5
11.5
32.5
2.5
Figure 5: Impact of HIV-infected workers
in the workplace
Do harm to the plant
Likely to transmit disease
Do not harm the plant
Do not know

23

Research parameter is a numerical quantity or attribute of a
population that is estimated using data collected from the population
9
.
For example, in this research, the proportion of workers who believe
that HIV-infected employees can do harm to the plant may be of
interest.
IV. CONCEPT 4: VALIDITY
Validity is the extent to which the result obtained meets all the
requirements of the research. It is applied for both the researchs design
and method. In data collection, validity means that the findings truly
present the phenomenon claimed to measure.
10
Validity is one of the
main concerns of any research. "Any research can be affected by
different kinds of factors which, while extraneous to the concerns of
the research, can invalidate the findings." (Seliger & Shohamy 1989,
95). Validity is not determined by a single data or statistic, but by the
whole research which represents the connection between the test and
the behavior intended to measure.
There are three types of validity:
- Content validity: When a test has content validity, the items on the test
demonstrate the entire range of possible items the test should cover
11
. For
instance, in the aforementioned survey in this research, all the possible

24

answers for each question raised have been covered to produce the most
accurate conclusion about each situation.
- Criterion-related validity: can be referred to as instrumental validity. The
preciseness of the measure can be determined by comparing it with a
measure which has been proved to be valid. To do this, the criterion which
has been measured has to be known very well. In this research, all the
KABP surveys results produce coincident conclusion with surveys already
done by other organizations like the National Office of HIV/AIDS
Prevention. There are two criteria that can be used to judge the validity in
different approaches: predictive validity and concurrent validity.
- Construct validity: the extent to which a test measures a feature or
characteristic that is impossible to observe directly, but is assumed to exist.
V. CONCEPT 5: RELIABILITY
Reliability is the extent to which any significant results produced is the same as
other post-findings and is inherently repeatable. Under the same conditions, other
researchers are likely to generate the same results. This will reinforce the findings
and make sure that the wider scientific community will accept the hypothesis.
12
Without the replication of the researchs results in the past and in the future,
the experiment and research have not met all of the requirements of testability.
In this research, the bias against HIV-positive people has formed in the mind of
Vietnamese for a very long time since this disease first case of HIV was detected
in Vietnam in December 1990. It is believed that any other surveys would

25

generate the same or similar results as those done by ILO as the bias is not easy to
change. Therefore, the results and conclusions drawn from these surveys are quite
reliable.

REFERENCE
1. Devault, G., Market Research Deductive versus Inductive,
About.com Guide, http://marketresearch.about.com/od/market-
research-quantitative/a/Market-Research-Deductive-Versus-
Inductive.htm, (accessed 20 August 2012).
2. Deductive and Inductive Research Approach, Dissertation Help
Service, http://dissertationhelponline.blogspot.com/2011/06/deductive-
and-inductive-research.html, (accessed 20 August 2012).
3. 5.6. 7.9. ILO Vietnam (2004), Gim thiu k th v phn bit i x
lin quan n HIV/AIDS ti ni lm vic Vit Nam.
4. UNGASS Report on prevention and control HIV/AIDS in Vietnam
(May 2003).
8. Deduction and Induction, Research Methods Knowledge Base,
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php, (accessed 21 August
2012).

26

9. Trent D., Parameter, SAGE Research Methods,
http://www.srmo.sagepub.com/view/encyclopedia-of-survey-research-
methods/n370.xml, (accessed 21 August 2012).
10. Validity,
http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/ResearchMethods/RM_2_18.
html, (accessed 21 August 2012).
11. Cherry, K., About.com Guide, What is validity?,
http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/f/validity.htm, (accessed
21 August 2012).
12. Validity and Reliability, Experiment-Resources.Com,
http://www.experiment-resources.com/validity-and-reliability.html,
(accessed 21 August 2012).